Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Senator O'Brien has raised a number of valid points but some of his contribution was pure speculation at the end of the day. There is a wider issue regarding the governance of State bodies, which is the subject of a code of conduct. I am glad the Senator acknowledged a great deal of board fixing went on under previous Governments and I could name boards to which this happened. There is an openness and transparency issue regarding how people are appointed to State boards. There is supposed to be a skills matrix on which appointments are based but the appropriate forum for the debate the Senator is seeking is the joint committee with responsibility for IMMA's governance.